The Ropes Of Being Human
by thegreeneyedrock
Summary: Castiel is human now and Dean makes it his personal mission to teach Cas how to be a human, a little at a time.
1. Humans Need A Hobby, Right?

_**Chapter 1: Humans Need A Hobby, Right?**_

It's been a week since Dean found Castiel standing outside the Bat Cave. Castiel was completely and utterly _human_. And not just the blocked grace type thing but full on **no **grace at all. Pure, white hot rage filled Dean Winchester as he thought of the dickhead who took Cas's grace from him.

The adjustment was difficult to say the least. Castiel had been a bit irritable but that was to be expected. The real problem was having a restless angel holing himself up in your room, refusing to leave except for the occasional food run or potty breaks.

And at first, Dean didn't really consider the problem, so he let it be. The ex-angel had just lost his damn wings for God's sakes. Anybody would be shaken up about it. But after having Castiel raid his drawers and successfully rearrange every gun placed on his wall, Dean was tired of it. "_He needs to get a hobby_," Sam had muttered one night after Cas had retreated back to Dean's room for the night.

It made sense. Humans need a hobby, right? Something they like to do. His own hobby, he had found, was cooking. He had always had a love for food, so he had found his little niche. Sammy had his research, spending hours cataloging the countless amounts of information the Men of Letters had on specific monsters. _So maybe it could work for Cas, _Dean thought. So he rounded up the posse to help him execute his plan to help Cas get a hobby and help with his new found humanness. Unfortunately, his small team diminished, what with Sam still sick and recovering from the trials and Kevin refusing to go, so he guessed he would just have to fly solo this time.

Dean walked toward his room. He had a feeling he was going to regret this. The eldest Winchester sighed and knocked on the door. A small grunt came from behind the door and Dean took it as a "come in. (or maybe it was a "go the Hell away"; he wasn't quite sure)" And anyway, this was his room. Why should he have to ask permission to go in his _own _room? He turned the knob gently and walked into the room. Cas was sitting cross-legged on the bed, looking scruffy and small in his borrowed clothes. Though he would never admit it, Dean loved seeing Castiel in his clothes. There was something about Cas in a faded Metallica shirt and ill-fitting jeans that slid down to reveal slender hips that Dean could definitely get used to. In fact, he already had.

Regardless of how good it made Castiel look, Dean knew that Cas would need an actual set of clothes. All part of his awesome plan. He strode over to where Cas was sitting.

"Come on, Cas. We're goin' somewhere."

Castiel looked up at him, a little shocked. "But Dean, I don't want to go anywhere. I'm fine where I'm at." Cas executed a bitch face worthy of Sam Winchester and went back to staring off into space.

"Dude, come on. We gotta get you outta here. Bein' in this room all the time can't be healthy." Castiel somewhat nods, as if maybe Dean was getting through to him but he still stayed in the same position, criss-cross applesauce on Dean's memory foam bed looking anywhere but at Dean. He knew that it was time to take action. Dean reached over and grabbed Castiel's hand. Castiel's breath hitched. _Huh. That was kinda weird._ Regardless, the eldest Winchester snapped the former angel off the bed and dragged him out the door.

Castiel stood outside of the Impala waiting for Dean. The apprehensive yet curious look on his face was almost too much for Dean to handle. See, Dean had a thing for Castiel. He didn't know when it happened, but he did know that the feeling was here and it wasn't going anywhere any time soon. He was a man; he could admit when he felt the fuzzy feelings. He may not spew his feelings all over the place like Sammy, but he knew when it was time to admit to himself about chick stuff. The thing was though, he was pretty sure that Castiel was straight. So he kept all this stupid feelings shit to himself.

"Ready?" He asked, successfully popped out of his own head.

"Yes, Dean." With that, they entered the shop. Dean dragged Castiel to the clothes section of the store. Dean let Cas browse through, picking things out and asking for Dean's approval. Occasionally, Dean would even suggest some clothes for Castiel, some that he thought would look good on him. Once they got that out of the way, they proceeded to the checkout line. He pulled the newly fallen angel to the side. "Hey Cas, I want you to come with me a second." Cas simply nodded and side-stepped, waiting for Dean to get in front to lead the way. Dean led him to an isle near the checkout register. The isle was filled with items for crafts. Dean motioned at it. "Come on, Cas. Pick out anything you want. Wouldn't want you to get bored in that room all day." He grinned down at Castiel who was gazing at the large collection of paints. He gently wrapped his hand around a package, complete with paints, a paint brush, and a small sketchbook. He hugged it, holding onto the small package with all of his worth. Castiel looked up at Dean with a wide grin that lit up his face. _God, he looks so- nope we're not going there!_

All of Dean's thoughts were drowned out by the sudden press of a slender body on his. Soon, arms slid between his arms and pulled him into an embrace. The hug was gentle but firm in the same instance, which doesn't make much sense but his hug was nonetheless meaning full.

The rational side of Dean's brain was telling him to break the contact before this got more sappy but Dean knew that that wasn't what his friend (was that even the correct term for what Cas was to him? He wasn't sure but did not want to press any farther) needed right now. He needed someone to be there for him, to teach him how to be human, to comfort him. So he stayed there for as long as Castiel needed, wrapping his own arms around the fallen angel's shoulder's, hugging tighter.

Castiel broke the contact after a long while. He flashed Dean one of his killer grins and said "Thank you, Dean." Whether it had been for the hug or for the art supplies, Dean didn't know. He accepted the gratitude and quickly exited the isle, Castiel following close behind him to the register to pay for the items they had picked out.

At this point, Dean determined to teach Cas the ropes of being human.

**AN: Well damn. This was supposed to be a short, one-time thing but I guess it all came out into this. Who knows what's going on in my funny ol' noodle? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


	2. Just Two Grown Men Helping Each Other

**Chapter 2: Just Two Grown Men, Helping Each Other Out**

So Dean sets out on his task of teaching Cas how to be human. It's a little bit daunting, if he was being honest with himself. They weren't hunting yet, so Dean could devoted all the time he had when not taking care of Sammy to teaching Cas. Now Cas wasn't a baby, he could take care of himself. He'd watched humans for millennia, but he would need a little bit of help and Dean would be there for him.

It started out with cooking. At first, Dean had expected to be cleaning shit off the ceiling but surprisingly, Castiel had taken very well to cooking, which was more than he could say for himself because the first time he tried to make Sam scrambled eggs he'd ended up with a whole carton of eggs on the floor. Granted, he was only five when he attempted to cook. Castiel was looking at the massive amount of food he and Dean had just made with pride but also with a bit of curiosity. That's what he does; he looks at the world in a unique way that was… refreshing. Castiel had a certain innocence to him, always looking at the world with such curiosity and wonder. It was… _cute_. But being Dean Winchester and not a sissy like Sam Winchester, he would never admit to anyone. He barely even admitted his small man crush to himself, much less anyone else.

Driving was next. Dean was definitely apprehensive about this but Cas had begged and pleaded with those bright blue eyes and Dean couldn't say no. _Damn. I need to stop letting him hang out with Sam._ The morning they set out to drive, Dean had given Cas an extensive lesson on what to do and what not to do and ended with the threat that if anything happened to Baby, there will be a price to pay. They get into the Impala and begin the lessons. Castiel follows every instruction Dean gives him to the tee. All in all, it goes really well. The only thing is Cas drives _really _slow. He actually goes the speed limit. It's kind of annoying but Dean thinks it's the price he pays for Baby's safety.

Sleep. This wasn't an area of expertise for Dean. There were a lot of nights where thoughts, regrets, and hell, even _fantasies_ kept him from slipping into the slow fade of darkness filled with nightmares, good dreams, or sometimes, if he was lucky, no dreams at all. But lately, there had been no nightmares at all, not since Cas decided that he would nest in Dean's room.

He tried. He really did. He tried to convince Castiel that he needed his own room but he had always received a "No. I will stay here. _I will watch over you."_ And that was that, he guessed. Once Cas made up his mind, he was as stubborn as well…Dean himself. Castiel had chosen to sleep in the chair next to Dean's bed. Sure, the chair was comfy, but not comfy enough to snooze in. Although, Cas didn't sleep all that much. He mostly stayed awake, watching Dean or reading a book, then finally giving into sleep at ass o'clock in the morning and waking up in the most foul mood that Dean had ever seen and he'd grown up with _Sam Winchester _for God's sake, the king of bitch faces and unholy moods. _This has to stop_, Dean thought. He knew what he had to do. He didn't like it (he actually loved it, but he wasn't going to admit it.) As they prepared for bed that night, Cas had taken to the chair for literally a week and a half. Dean had stripped off his jeans and thrown on some comfy pajama pants and flung himself on his bed. He wriggled under the covers and opened them on the right side. "C'mere." He patted the empty space of bed next to him. Castiel looked up from the book his nose was shoved in. "Dean…" He tilted his head and gave him bitch face #37; the one Sam gives him when he's being an idiot. "Cas, come on. There's plenty of room over here, and you won't get your own bed so we might as well make some use of the space. It can't be too comfortable sleepin' in that chair." Cas got up without another word and shimmied under the covers with Dean. He sighed a happy sort of sigh but then something drifted over his face, a look akin to confusion and concern. "What's on your mind, Cas?" "It is nothing… just... what about your need for 'personal space'?" Ugh. Again with the stupid air quotes. "Well, Cas see, this is the one exception to that rule. 'Sides, the beds big 'nough for the two of us." Cas still looked concerned but soon, his eyes began to droop, as did Dean's. Soon they were both fast asleep.

When Dean woke up that morning, he felt a pleasant warmth. Instinctively, he moved toward the warmth. He opened his eyes lazily and blinked. Looking around, he blinked again. _Holy shit!_ He was fucking _tangled _up with a sleeping Cas. He would never hear the end of it. Castiel was still asleep, his arm wrapped tight around Dean's waist and _Dean's _arm _was wrapped a_round him! _Oh God!_ But Dean couldn't bring himself to wake him up. He looked so peaceful and relaxed. Dean moved a bit, just a fraction of an inch to try to give himself a bit of air but Cas's eyes flew open. Castiel flew backward in order to detangle himself, in doing so, he fell off the bed. He quickly got to his feet and up righted himself. "I…um…I apologize for that. I will…um…go back to sleeping in the chair, if you would prefer," the ex-angel said, clearly embarrassed. Dean smiled. "Come back to bed, moron." Castiel's jaw practically fell to the floor. "Close your mouth. You're gonna catch flies in there. Get your ass over here." Without another word, Castiel stalked over to the bed and stiffly laid down next to Dean. _Yeah, this could work. Definitely. _And so, the routine started. Dean would come to bed, Cas would already be in there, reading a book or drawing. He would look up and smile at Dean, a secret smile. And they would go to sleep next to each other. Nothin' sexual about it. Just two grown men, helping each other out (Not in that way, dammit, stop thinking like that!). And if they woke up tangled up in each other's limbs (Dean refused to call it cuddling because that's not what that was!) in the morning, who was tellin'?

**AN: Well hello again, loves. This took a helleva long time to write and I pretty much can only write at like one am. But as for next chapter (I think that will be the end but I don't know. It all kinda depends on where Dean and Cas want to go.), I've already got some things planned out and some written so hopefully, it will come together soon. See you next chapter!**


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